Six months in and I’ve ridden more than previous years, the Rush XX is proving so inspiring. There’s a certain pressure to do the bike justice which has resulted in regular longer rides and a positive ” just one more hill” attitude. I’ll happily admit to changing my perspective on climbing from a means to an end to positively seeking out challenging climbs. But the bike is just as enjoyable downhill too, a bit more finesse than thrutch but capable of covering ground fast with the rider feeling in the bike rather than on it.

The Cannondale Rush XX in't woods

At just over 24 pounds it’s a great climber although it’s easy to get seduced into pushing harder gears until your legs give up , but pace yourself and the bike will deliver with plenty of traction and little front end wandering even on steep uphills allowing you to concentrate on turning circles until you reach the top.

XX cassette six months in

Given the amount of ground covered I’ve been impressed by the lack of wear on the cassette and front rings especially considering the time spent in the big alloy cog. The low 28×36 combination has handled everything Calderdale/The Lakes/Dales has thrown at it without feeling there’s a need for another gear. The cassette has also worked flawlessly even in true filth conditions, there’s nowhere for the crud to stick. I swapped over to dry lubes early on to reduce grit sticking to the chain (the narrower 10 speed chain seemed to hold grit more than a nine speed).

The other point to make here about the Sram XX groupset is how reliable it has been. I’ve treated the bike with my usual disdain for hours spent cleaning and all it’s needed is the front shifter cable tweaking a 1/4 turn to allow for cable stretch; that’s been the level of maintainence required. No miss shifts, no constant fettling to ensure clean shifts, just boring reliability. And despite my original paranoia about the lightweight brake pads with organic compound I’m only just on my second set of pads.

New Raceface grips

The only thing I’ve had to swap has been the grips as I was getting hand cramp at the end of long rides

The seatpost is showing signs of wear

The seatpost is bearing witness to mission creep, the bike handles so well it’s getting ridden in more than just “saddle up” enduro mode.

I don’t think cannondale do a rush with this spec, nor do they sell the frame on it’s own. So you’d have to buy a complete bike, sell the groupset, buy a full SRAM XX groupset and fit it = rather a lot (unless your a journo).

These days expensive full suspension mountain bikes are all generally pretty good IMHO.